View full sizeThe chapel that used to back up to the Donelson House has since been replaced by a more modern mortuary.Photo courtesy of the Washington County Musuem

the headquarters of a nonprofit culinary training program. It's likely to move to a new location, too, within the block it's currently located.

Both revisions were approved unanimously this week by the Hillsboro Planning Commission.

The Bungalow-style house is more than 100 years old, and the former residence of the city's undertaker. In its formative years, the house backed up to a regal Queen Anne funeral parlor in the city’s downtown core.

The parlor has since been replaced by a more modern -- though now vacant -- funeral home that will be demolished as part of Bienestar's multimillion-dollar Benessere Village, a senior housing development. Bienestar plans to use the Donelson House as the kitchen for a food industry training program, called Recetas.

Along with doing some maintenance and repairs, Bienestar got the planning commission's okay to move the house from its east-facing location on Northeast Third Avenue to a north-facing spot on the same lot, where the vacant mortuary will be demolished. Bienestar would then build an apartment building for seniors at the current Donelson house site, Executive Director Karen Shawcross said.

The larger senior development will be phased. If Bienestar gets a Community Development Block Grant, work on the house could begin as soon as this summer. But in order to build the senior housing, Bienestar will need to come back to the planning commission for design approval.